Bird Magic: Wisdom of the Ancient Goddess for Pagans & Wiccans - Sandra Kynes 2016

Cuckoo: Black-Billed Cuckoo, Yellow-Billed Cuckoo
The Profiles

Yellow-Billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)

American cuckoos occasionally lay eggs in nests of other birds; however, they do this far less than their European cousins. This practice was the basis for the term cuckold, meaning “the husband of an unfaithful wife.” However, this term originally had a broader meaning of “adulterer” or “deceiver.” ⁵⁹ The Greeks associated the cuckoo and this habit with lust. Gods, especially Zeus, used the guise of this bird for amorous pursuits. The cuckoo was also regarded as a messenger of Thor, and it was believed to become a sparrow hawk during the winter.

A common but shy bird, the cuckoo is heard more often than it is seen. In Europe, this bird has been considered uncanny because it is hard to distinguish from which direction its sound is coming. This gave rise to a wide range of folklore. In addition, if a cuckoo was heard in the wee hours of the morning, the interpretation of its calls depended on the current moon phase.

April was considered the month of the cuckoo, when it returned to many parts of Europe and England. Numerous legends were centered around the first time a cuckoo was heard in the spring. For example, if a person had money in their pocket when this occurred, they would have a prosperous year.

Greek writer, farmer, and astronomer Hesiod (c. 700 BCE) considered the cuckoo a weather forecaster. The timing of this bird’s arrival in the spring was said to foretell summer weather, which was important for the year’s planting and harvesting. In America, the cuckoo’s tendency to make more noise as storms approached was the basis for its nickname rain crow.

In Celtic lore, the cuckoo was a bird of the otherworld that could call forth the souls of the dead. It was also a herald for Lugh on the summer solstice.

Magical Workings

As folklore through the ages has pointed out, the cuckoo is a bird of prophecy. Place a picture or figurine of it on your altar or wherever you practice divination. Also, call on cuckoo to aid you in developing and strengthening intuition. This bird’s connection with the otherworld makes it an ally for shamanic work as long as your intentions are clear.

As a harbinger of spring and the herald of Lugh, place an image or figurine of cuckoo on your altar for Ostara and Litha, as well as for an April esbat ritual. Invite this bird into your life when entering a new stage, situation, or relationship. It can help you ease through changes, find balance, and foster growth.

Employ cuckoo to boost love spells, especially when marriage is involved or to banish jealousy. Call on it for luck when seeking justice and to eliminate negative energy.

Make Connection

Connect with the energy of cuckoo by sitting quietly in front of your altar. Hold your divination tools or any object that represents prophecy. Very slowly, in a whisper, begin to chant “coo-koo” over and over like a mantra until you begin to feel slightly mesmerized. Stop chanting and tune in to the silence for a minute or two with your mind and soul open for messages. You may find this exercise especially useful at the beginning of your divination sessions.

Associations

Zodiac: Aquarius

Element(s): Air, earth, fire

Sabbat(s): Ostara, Litha

Goddesses: Athena, Hera, Juno

Gods: Agni, Lemminkäinen, Lugh, Pan, Thor, Zeus

Trees: Aspen, birch, hawthorn, poplar, willow

Solar system: Moon, Sun

Magical beings: Fairies

Bird Identification

Black-Billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)

Size: 11 to 12 inches

Wingspan: 13 to 15 inches

Comparative size: Robin to pigeon

Description: Slender body; long tail; brown and gray back and head; whitish underparts; red eye ring; black bill

Range: Maine to eastern Montana and just north of the Canadian border, and south to eastern Colorado and South Carolina, through the Gulf Coast states into Mexico and Central America

Habitat: Woodlands, thickets, overgrown pastures, and orchards

Eggs: Greenish-blue

Yellow-Billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)

Size: 10 to 12 inches

Wingspan: 15 to 7 inches

Comparative size: Robin to pigeon

Description: Slender body; long tail; brown upper body and whitish underparts; mostly yellow, down-curved bill; dark mask across face; yellow eye ring

Range: From the East Coast to the Dakotas, south through Texas to Florida; also in Cuba and parts of Mexico

Habitat: Woodlands with dense cover, thickets along streams, old orchards, and scrublands

Eggs: Pale bluish-green that lightens to greenish yellow

Collective noun(s): An asylum, a cooch, or a family of cuckoos

59. Peter Tate, Flights of Fancy: Birds in Myth, Legend, and Superstition (New York: Bantam Dell, 2007), 29.